Isolation
by TayTa1895
Summary: Alexis has been home from Paris for about 2 weeks. As far as Kate knew, both her and Castle were fine from. And Castle is, but Kate soon learns that Alexis is not as she seems.
1. The Missed Call

Has anyone else been thinking about Paris recently? It may just be me since I'm studying French, but it got me thinking. Why have our two favorite writers not had Kate and Alexis become closer? Well, a couple of my readers and I agree that there should be some bonding time. So I concocted a little story here.

Kate was sitting at her desk with Castle sitting across from her fiddling with one of his many pens when her cell phone rang. She looked down at it, surprised to see Alexis' face light up the screen. She spared a look over to Castle, who wasn't paying attention. She turned the phone on silent. "Castle, I'll be back."

He looked up for a second until she pointed toward the restrooms. Nodding, he turned his attention back to his pen, taking it apart then putting it back together.

Once Kate was out of sight she turned and went out to the stair well. She pulled out her phone and quickly called Alexis back. "Hey, Alexis, everything alright?"

"Kate, I was wondering if we could meet up in town somewhere. Grab a bite to eat."

Kate sat down on the stairs, thinking. "Alexis, your dad is here with me. I couldn't leave him here."

Alexis paused on the other end for a moment. "Yea that's fine. Sorry. I should have thought about that."

"It's fine. We can have dinner some other time if you would like."

Alexis spoke in a hurried tone, rushing to get off the phone. "Maybe. Well, anyways, I have to go. Bye."

Kate went to answer but Alexis had already hung up. She looked down at her phone with confusion before heading back inside. She found Castle in the same place that he was when she left. He just smiled up at her. "So, what's for lunch? I'm starved."

Looking down at him, her stomach almost flipped. Alexis hadn't called to just eat. She needed something. "I don't know. Look," she leaned down close, as if studying her papers, so she could whisper to him. "Why don't you go on back to your place and I will bring you a surprise when I get off? All I have to do is paper work anyway."

His eyes crinkled when a grin split his face. "Sounds like a phenomenal plan. Like something I would think up. You are learning well, young padawan."

Chuckling, she hit him teasingly. "Hurry up and go before I make you help."

He grabbed up his notebook and feigned fear before walking off.

As soon as he was on the elevator, Kate pulled out her phone and dialed up Alexis.

"Hello?"

"Alexis. Are you still available for lunch? Just you and me?"


	2. A Strawberry Milkshake and a Good Chat

**Hello Lovetts! That is what I shall call my readers now. Lovetts. Get used to it! Lol**

**Anywhoooo, guess who is skipping school just to write for you guys….haha just kidding. I had a doctor's appointment today. And now I am on pain killers, so pardon if this gets too odd. Will make corrections if it does at a later time. **

**On to the story!**

Kate pulled up to Remy's about an hour after talking with Alexis. She felt stupid really. It had been less than a month since Alexis and Castle had returned from Paris and neither of them had been very chatty about the whole ordeal. Not that Kate could blame them; it had been very traumatic, for everyone involved. She could even remember the night after Castle had first arrived in Paris. The feeling of being so sure that neither he nor Alexis would return, and then having to shove that thought down as low as she could in her stomach, so she could still be of some help.

However, she knew that that fear was over now; at least that is what she had believed, until she got the call from Alexis. And now, she was greeted by a fidgeting, exhausted looking girl, tucked into a booth just as far as she could manage, seeming to be hiding. It now dawned on Kate that they hadn't really seen each other since the night they returned home, and it appeared that Alexis had been in a bad way since then. "Alexis?" It broke Kate's heart when the young girl jumped, not knowing she was even there until she had spoken. "Easy, Alexis. Are you okay?"

The red head looked up at her and tried to put on her best smile, but Kate knew that look, and it was anything but happiness. "Hey, Kate, I'm so glad you could make it."

She nodded and sat down across from Alexis. "Yea, me too. It wasn't hard to convince your dad to go on home. Just had to say the word paper work and he all but flew out of there." Kate could see Alexis trying to play the role, but it was obvious how she was really feeling. "So, Alexis, what's up? Are you doing okay?"

Alexis nodded, staring down intently at her water. "I bet he did. With him being a writer, he sure does hate paper work."

Kate cleared her throat, which made Alexis jump, but look at her. "Alexis, you can't avoid that question forever you know. You will eventually have to tell me how you are doing. Is there something I need to know? Something that you want to get off your chest?"

Alexis looked back down, stirring her water with the straw. Kate wanted to be mad, but she knew what Alexis was going through, and knew that her anger would not help the situation at all.

They sat in silence until the waitress finally came up, taking Kate's drink order of a strawberry milkshake, and the usual burger and fry for each of them. It wasn't until the waitress walked off that Alexis finally spoke back up again. "Kate, how did you do it?"

She looked up at Alexis, a little confused. "How did I do what?"

Alexis seemed to try and think on what to say before finally answering. "How did you deal with the fear, after you were shot? The knowing that someone out there wanted you dead, and you have no apparent control of the situation. The feeling of not knowing at any second if someone was going to try it again. The absolutely soul crushing fear."

Alexis hadn't looked up the entire time she had said this, but Kate was almost positive that she saw tears on the younger girls face. "Alexis, it isn't something I dealt with easily. I had friends there for me. They each helped in their own way, until I was able to function a little better. It is not something that you can do on your own. I tried. I ended up hurting myself instead of helping."

Alexis nodded, now watching Kate. "I don't know what to do though. It seems like every time I am anywhere public like this, I feel like someone is going to grab me and attempt to take me away again. And when I'm alone, it feels like I'm suffocating under my own fear."

Kate had to hold back tears of her own for Alexis. It was so apparent in her troubled icy blue eyes what was wrong, but it was unfair to even put that on a child. "Alexis, it does feel like that, no matter where you are or what you do. It has to be dealt with over time, and I would love to help you with it, but maybe you ought to tell your father as well. He wants nothing more than to help you. He helped me." She just nodded again, wiping quickly at her eyes when the food and Kate's shake was brought out. Kate waited until the waitress had walked off again before continuing. "Alexis, you are the strongest young woman I know, and I'm so proud to know you. I will help you how ever I can, because that's what friends are for. I would like to consider us friends, even with your father and me dating. I know I can't replace Meredith to you, and I would never try, I just want you to know that we can talk like this, whenever you want to. Just say the word and I'm here. Plus, it doesn't take much to get me to where there is a milk shake."

Alexis smiled the first genuine smile Kate had seen since arriving. "Thank you, Kate. That really means a lot to me. I'm just a little worried that dad will spin it out of proportion."

Kate nodded her agreement, paying much needed attention to her milkshake. "Alexis," she said after taking a large swallow of shake, "he loves you so much. All he needs is to be talked to about it, because believe me; keeping this all bottled in will not help."

Alexis nodded and they ate in relative silence, talking about school, and about if there were any cute guys. It had almost seemed as if Alexis' bout of PTSD had passed, until they were getting up to leave, and Alexis bumped into a gentleman that was walking by. He turned to apologize but she screamed and ran for the door. Kate quickly apologized to the man before following after her.

When she reached Alexis, she was leaned against the wall outside, having difficulty breathing. Kate understood and, instead of trying to reason with the young girl, pulled her into a hug, allowing her a moment away from the pedestrians wandering eyes. Alexis' breathing returned to normal after a moment and she stepped back, nodding her thanks to Kate.

Kate smiled understandingly before patting her lightly on the back. "How about we go talk to Lanie for a bit, leave your dad to his fun at home for a while? Plus, the morgue will be a lot quieter."

Alexis nodded in agreement, still slightly embarrassed.

Kate noticed this and bumped Alexis as they walked. "Hey, you want the answer to your question from earlier, on how I dealt with it?"

Alexis looked over to her, a little surprised. "I thought you had, but sure."

She smiled. "You think it's a weakness? Make it a strength. It's a part of you, so use it."


End file.
